Lived Experiences of Slovak and Czech Immigrants to Australia: A Phenomenological Study

After World War II, an estimated five million people were on the move in Czechoslovakia. Between 1954 and 1970, over 16,000 of them immigrated to Australia. This paper is part of a larger research project that provides an in-depth inquiry of the lived experiences of 18 post-World War II emigrants from Czechoslovakia, who are now Australian citizens. Findings reveal emigrants’ significant emotional reflections about their life in Czechoslovakia and provide vivid phenomenological accounts of their views about their original country’s political and economic context and life within it, as well as challenges related to leaving the country and their lived experiences as displaced persons in foreign countries and Displaced Persons camps.